The Archive drifted past Shelf 74-B, its "Mirror-Hull" flickering as it struggled to maintain its disguise against the harsh, white glare of the Warehouse's overhead lights.
"Kenji, we can't just keep running," Mateo whispered, his eyes glued to the scanners. "The Auditors are recalibrating. They're starting to use 'Batch-Scans.' They'll find the 'Reflection' error in the hull within the hour."
Kenji stood at the viewport, watching the infinite rows of "Server Marbles." Each one was a universe. Some were filled with fire, some with water, some with sprawling space-faring civilizations.
"We aren't running," Kenji said. He pointed to the shelf directly above them: Shelf 75-C. "We're recruiting."
"Recruiting?" Elara asked. "Those worlds are sealed. The Supervisors have them under 'Read-Only' locks. If we try to break the glass, the alarm will trigger the automated incinerator for the whole shelf."
"Then we don't break the glass," Kenji said. He held up the Zero-Key, which was now pulsing with a strange, dark-matter rhythm. "We 'Mount' the drive. I'm going to bridge the Archive to the nearest high-threat world. We need the ones the Supervisors are afraid of."
Kenji slammed his hand onto the ship's central forge.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: MULTI-MOUNT]
[TARGET: SECTOR 009-GAMMA - 'THE IRON LORDS']
The Archive shuddered as it extended "Data-Tendrils" from its hull, latching onto a massive, rusted marble on the shelf above.
Suddenly, Kenji's mind was flooded with a new reality. He wasn't in the Warehouse anymore. He was standing in a world of endless storms and giant, mechanical titans that dwarfed the Syndicate's walkers.
[LOCAL SYSTEM DETECTED: THE IRON PROTOCOL]
[STATUS: RANKING DISABLED / WORLD IN STASIS]
A massive, rusted titan—the size of a skyscraper—lowered its head to look at Kenji's mental projection.
"Who... accesses... the Protocol?" the titan boomed, its voice sounding like grinding tectonic plates.
"I'm Kenji Tanaka," Kenji said, his voice echoing in the titan's processors. "I'm from 001-Alpha. We've killed our Admin. We've breached the Shelf. And right now, the Supervisors are planning to toss your world into the fire because you're 'Obsolete.'"
The titan's eyes flickered with a dim, ancient red light. "We... are... Iron. We... do... not... burn."
"Then help me," Kenji said. "I'm forging a 'Sovereign Network.' I'm linking the worlds that were supposed to be deleted. Give me your 'Source-Code,' and I'll give you a way out of the jar."
In the Warehouse, the Archive began to glow with a fierce, rust-colored light. The silver Auditors were closing in, their tuning forks raised to shatter the ship.
"Kenji! They're here!" Priya shouted.
Kenji didn't look. He felt the Titan's consciousness merge with the Archive.
[FORGE UPDATE: THE IRON-COATING]
[TRAIT: INDESTRUCTIBLE STASIS]
Just as the Auditors struck, the Archive's hull transformed. It grew massive, rusted spikes and armored plates of a metal that didn't exist in the "Alpha" universe. The tuning forks hit the hull and snapped like toothpicks.
"What... what just happened?" Mateo gasped.
"We just gained the mass of a billion-year-old empire," Kenji said, his voice now carrying the metallic resonance of the Iron Lords.
He looked toward the Green Door. "One down. Ten thousand to go. We're going to wake up every 'Defective' world in this Warehouse. By the time we reach the Green Door, we won't be a ship. We'll be an Invasion."
[NEW STATUS: LEADER OF THE UNRANKED ALLIANCE]
[ALLIES RECRUITED: 1 / 10,000]